Triglyceride Level Test

What is the
triglyceride level test?

The triglyceride level test helps measure the amount of triglycerides in your blood. Triglycerides are a type of fat, or lipid, found in the blood. The results of this test help your doctor determine your risk of developing heart disease. Another name for this test is a triacylglycerol test.

Triglycerides are a type of lipid. The body stores calories that it doesn’t use right away as triglycerides. These triglycerides circulate in the blood to provide energy for your muscles to work. Extra triglycerides enter your blood after you eat. If you eat more calories than your body needs, your triglyceride level may be high.

Why
do I need the triglyceride level test?

The triglyceride level test will help your doctor determine your risk of developing heart disease. It helps estimate the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood. It can show if you have inflammation in your pancreas and if you’re at risk of developing atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis occurs when fat builds up inside your arteries. It can increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

You should have a lipid profile done every five years as part of your regular medical exam. The lipid profile tests your levels of the following:

cholesterol

HDL

LDL

triglycerides

If you’re receiving treatment for a high triglyceride level, your doctor will order this test more frequently to monitor the effectiveness of your treatment. If you have prediabetes or diabetes, it’s important to monitor your triglyceride level regularly because triglycerides will increase when you aren’t properly maintaining your blood sugar levels.

Children may also need this test if they’re at an increased risk of developing heart disease. This includes children who are overweight or who have a family history of heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Children at increased risk of developing heart disease will need this test between 2 and 10 years of age. Children under 2 are too young for testing.

How
do I prepare for the triglyceride test?

You should fast for 9 to 14 hours before the test and drink only water during that period. Your doctor will specify how much time you should fast before the test. You should also avoid alcohol for 24 hours before the test.

Your doctor may tell you to stop taking certain medicines before the test. You should talk to your doctor about the medications you’re taking.

How
is the triglyceride level test performed?

The test uses a blood sample that a laboratory will analyze. A healthcare provider will draw blood from a vein in the front of your elbow or the back of your hand. They’ll follow these steps to get the blood sample:

They clean the site with an antiseptic and wrap an elastic band around your arm to allow blood to fill the veins.

They insert a needle into your vein and collect blood in a tube attached to the needle.

Once the tube is full, they remove the elastic band and the needle. They then press against the puncture site with a cotton ball or gauze to stop any bleeding.

A portable machine can also perform this test. The machine collects a very small sample of blood from a finger stick and analyzes your triglycerides as part of a lipid panel. You can often find this type of test at mobile clinics or health fairs.

In addition, you can buy a portable machine to monitor your triglycerides at home. Another way to monitor your triglycerides at home is to mail a sample of blood to a laboratory using a prepared kit. You should talk to your doctor to see if either of these at-home tests is a good option for you.

What
do the results mean?

The following are the basic categories of results for triglyceride levels:

A normal fasting level is 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

A borderline high level is 150 to 199 mg/dL.

A high level is 200 to 499 mg/dL.

A very high level is more than 500 mg/dL.

Hypertriglyceridemia is the medical term for elevated triglycerides in the blood.

Fasting levels normally vary from day to day. Triglycerides vary dramatically when you eat a meal and can be 5 to 10 times higher than fasting levels.

You have a risk of developing pancreatitis if your fasting triglyceride levels are above 1,000 mg/dL. If your triglyceride levels are above 1,000 mg/dL, you should start immediate treatment to lower triglycerides.

If your triglyceride levels are high, your cholesterol may also be high. This condition is known as hyperlipidemia.

There are many reasons why your triglyceride level may be high. Some of them are due to lifestyle habits that increase triglyceride levels. These include: